Bill Haas hits out of a bunker on the 17th hole during the third round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club on Saturday. STEPHEN DUNN, GETTY IMAGES

LOS ANGELES – Bill Haas really likes the 10th hole at Riviera.

Well, he likes all of Riviera. The Northern Trust Open defending champion has just been doing particularly well on its treacherous par-4 10th of late, including a 57-foot eagle chip Saturday that helped propel him from a standard round to a day-best 7-under 64.

Heading into Sunday's final round in Pacific Palisades, Haas sits at 12-under 201, holding a 3-shot lead over three golfers – Webb Simpson, Charl Schwartzel and John Merrick.

"I just kind of was plugging along out there," Haas said. "Then, all of a sudden, I made a nice putt at 9, a chip-in at 10, a good up-and-down at 11 and then made a couple nice par saves."

The 315-yard 10th hole was also the location of Haas' dramatic playoff victory at Riviera in 2012, when he nailed a 43-foot birdie putt to best Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley. He shot par on it in this year's opening round, then followed up with a birdie Friday before Saturday's key eagle.

But his approach is always altering. Friday, he used a driver to get to the green; Saturday, he opted for a 3-wood. He could choose either Sunday depending on the wind, temperature and condition of the greens.

"It changes by the minute, not necessarily by the day," Haas said. "Hopefully when I get to that tee box tomorrow, I'll make a game plan."

The 30-year-old Haas is trying to become the seventh golfer to repeat on the famed L.A. tour stop. Included in the first six are all-time greats Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Mickelson.

Haas is fully aware of his would-be company. He's also aware of the challenge he'll face in attempting to stretch out his lead Sunday to avoid a tension-filled back nine.

"It's very difficult in this game to just pull away from the rest of the field," he said. "You've only seen a few guys ever really do that."

Two of the golfers with the best chance of catching him, Simpson and Schwartzel, each shot 3-under Saturday to move to 9-under 204 for the tournament. They're in Sunday's final grouping with Haas, teeing off at 10:30 a.m.

Haas and Simpson are both Wake Forest alums and longtime friends. They went to school a year apart, but Haas has acted as the 27-year-old Simpson's big brother since the latter joined the PGA Tour in 2008.

Simpson excitedly congratulated Haas on the 10th-hole eagle when the two crossed paths in the interview room after Saturday's round.

"Bill shooting 7-under is incredible," Simpson said. "I mean, it was very tough out there. I felt like my 3-under was pretty good."

Simpson, last year's U.S. Open champion, is something of a 10th-hole expert at Riviera. He has never bogeyed it in seven tour tries, and he has birdied it all three times this weekend.

Said Simpson: "It's a perfect example of how Riviera is: It doesn't seem that hard, but a lot can go wrong in a quick second."

A lot has been going right for Haas so far. Bogey-free for 40 consecutive holes, he shot three strokes better than anyone in the field Saturday.

And one of the only mistakes he did make might end up helping him come Sunday. Haas said he usually worries he's falling behind the field when he doesn't birdie hole No. 1 – traditionally Riviera's easiest.

But not anymore. He parred it Saturday.

"I proved today that you can still play a good round not doing that," Haas said.

Haas, a four-time tour winner, has long loved Riviera – even before he won here last year. He skipped one of his best friend's weddings to play in that tournament.

"I like everything about it," he said Saturday. "The golf course, the grass...walking in the locker room, seeing the pictures of all those champions on the wall. It's just got a great feel about it."

NOTES

Of the three golfers with O.C. ties left in the tournament, Hunter Mahan of Santa Ana is in the best position with one day remaining, at 6-under 207. Cameron Tringale (Laguna Niguel) is at even-par 213 and Brendan Steele (Irvine) is 1-over 214, 13 shots back of the lead. Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club's Michael Block did not make the post-Saturday cut after shooting 8-over 79. ... Saturday was UCLA Day at Riviera. Recent alum Patrick Cantlay (Servite) stayed around after being cut Friday to help lead a children's clinic. ... Final-round play is set to begin at 8:24 a.m. Sunday.

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